Call for students to become 'Data Detectives'

The Human Face of Big Data (HFBD) is offering students from around the world an opportunity to take part in its Data Detectives initiative, aimed at teaching students how big data will impact their lives post high school.

Data Detectives is the student component of the HFBD, which aims to assist young people to better visualise the ways big data is shaping the future of the planet.

Students between the ages of 13 and 18 will engage in Web experiences, answer questions, interact with real-time data, and see how other students around the world are impacted in similar and different ways.

“The goal of Data Detectives is to spark the imaginations of students around the globe by making them think about new technologies that will impact humanity in ways similar to language and art,” says Rick Smolan, CEO of Against All Odds Productions.

More than 100 TEDYouth events will take place in 42 countries around the world with the aim to inspire youth with insights from the project. It is being delivered in New York, where 400 students are expected to gather for speaker sessions comprising 20 scientists, designers, technologists, explorers, artists and performers, who will share short lessons on what they do.

“We want to illustrate the personal side of a complex topic to demonstrate just how different the lives of today’s youth will be in comparison to their parents’,” Smolan adds.

According to EMC, the HFBD project is based on the premise that the real-time visualisation of data collected by satellites and by billions of sensors, RFID tags and GPS-enabled cameras and smartphones around the world is enabling humanity to sense, measure, understand and affect aspects of existence in astounding ways.

“The HFBD and the associated Data Detectives initiative illustrates EMC’s belief that an interconnected world that provides the collection, analysis and visualisation of data is empowering the human race across geographic, economic and cultural barriers,” concludes Jeremy Burton, EMC executive VP, product operations and marketing.